That day, Hill didn't doubt his future signal-caller's skills. Instead, he went to J.T.'s father, John, and spoke prophetically.

"I went to his dad and said 'He's going to play Division I football,'" Hill recalled. "It was kind of funny because he was bouncing it off of guys' heads and those kids couldn't quite catch the ball."

The coach saw Granato's size, arm strength and overall ability and believed he had a future star on his hands. This summer and fall, others will begin to see for themselves whether Hill was right, but college coaches are already betting that he was.

On Saturday, Granato helped lead Kinkaid to the inaugural Crosby Cougar 7-on-7 tournament championship, engineering the Falcons to a 5-0 record on the day. The 6-foot-4, 209-pound prospect showed all the tools that have been used to describe him.

"He has a really good arm," said teammate Samuel Mays, a 2015 receiver who has been offered by Fresno State. "We've kind of clicked the last couple of weeks working in 7-on-7. When I come out of my breaks, the ball is usually right there. That's really good."

Granato, who threw for 1,264 yards and 10 touchdowns while sharing starting duties in his sophomore season, doesn't yet have an offer, but that could change this summer. Coach after coach has filed through the doors of Kinkaid this spring to see Granato. Florida, Notre Dame, Stanford, Texas, Texas A&M are just a few of those schools.

Many schools have undoubtedly come to see 2014 tight end Mavin Saunders -- whose offer list has exploded this spring -- but many have come to see Granato too.

"It's kind of hard to describe," Granato said. "It's really cool. I'm pretty lucky to be in this situation."

He has countless camp invites this summer and acknowledged he can't hit them all. He'll attend a handful, starting with Texas A&M's camp on June 2.

"I'm looking forward to it," Granato said. "I'm going to go up there and try my best to get an offer."

LSU, Northwestern, Notre Dame and Stanford are also among the schools Granato said he's considering visiting for summer camps.

On Saturday he showed off his deep arm but also fit passes into small windows on underneath routes. Hill said he was impressed by the way Granato went through his second and third progressions, something that's hard to teach a high school quarterback, especially at 16."

One opposing coach in attendance at Saturday's tournament complimented Granato's arm strength by labeling it "deadly." But that's not the only reason so many are interested in him, Hill said.

"His frame, his arm strength, his leadership -- he has all the qualities you're looking for in a major Division I quarterback," said Hill, who also coached West Virginia quarterback Ford Childress at Kinkaid. "There are a lot of quarterbacks that can step back and throw the ball and have good arms, but it takes the total package. J.T.'s got that. He has a great work ethic, he's a student of the game and he's going to make somebody a really good quarterback."